One of the scariest moments in college football on Saturday happened in Knoxville, when a University of Tennessee defensive lineman named Danny O’Brien was down on the field, all but unmoving, for several minutes after sustaining a head and neck injury while making a tackle on a Texas A&M running back.
Now, to add insult to injury, O’Brien has been kicked off the Volunteers for an unspecified violation of team rules. O’Brien was a redshirt senior, which means he only had a handful of games remaining in his career anyway, but the curiously-timed decision — said to be unrelated to the injury — does mean he won’t get to participate in what will surely be a bowl game at the end of UT’s season.
But before anyone goes crying foul and accusing Tennessee of trying to get out of treating their unpaid labor for a serious head injury by booting him from the team, the university released a statement to Knox News saying, “Should he require any additional care, it will be provided by the University of Tennessee.”
Though no one has come forward to say the exact nature of the violation that got him kicked off the team, O’Brien is not taking issue with the decision:
I take full responsibility. I'm grateful for my teammates, coaches, and Vol nation. It has been and honor to help bring this program back.
— Danny O'Brien (@dandiesel13) October 11, 2016
